The takeover of Newcastle United, an ailing English club, by a consortium led by a Saudi-backed investment fund, has once again stoked a passionate debate on sportswashing. As a result of the approval of the buyout, the struggling club has suddenly become the richest club in the world's richest football league, the English Premier League (EPL), where Newcastle currently ranks 19th out of 20 teams in the league's point table. The change of ownership, though largely welcomed by the fans of Newcastle, has prompted widespread criticism from human rights groups, and raised some critical geopolitical questions. These supporters, who have been demanding the ouster of Mike Ashley, who bought the club in 2007 but has done little to lift it out of mediocrity, have celebrated the takeover and are now daring to dream of trophies after more than a decade. But the deal has enraged human rights defenders due to the appalling records of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. The majority owner o...